You Stare Into Space

Beck “Profanity Prayers”

The older Beck gets, the more his music begins to sound like the equivalent of a thousand yard stare. Or really, in the case of Modern Guilt, a billion lightyear stare out into the expanse of the universe. He’s always been aloof and unknowable, but in recent years, his work has felt aesthetically sterile and emotionally blank, even as he deals with increasingly dark subject matter. His songs are still catchy and he’s still got a sense of humor, but it has all become very cerebral and disconnected, like there’s just no real dude there anymore, only this intellect that has thoroughly devoured a personality. I think this all worked to his benefit on The Information, a record that navigated the void and emoted in this odd, muted sort of way. Modern Guilt, on the other hand, mostly just sounds like a hollow shell, even when the songs have a nice hook or express, in the faintest way perceivable, serious existential dread.

I reckon a lot of this failure comes down to the fact that the album is a collaboration with Danger Mouse, and his weak production values hobble many of the songs from the get-go. From begin to end, the drums on Modern Guilt sound limp, ineffectual, and overly compressed, leaving even the best songs feeling tentative and anemic. Whereas Nigel Godrich’s production work on The Information balanced out the distant vibe of the material with crisp, urgent percussion and vivid tones, Danger Mouse’s oomph-less tracks make entire compositions come across as non-committal, or worse, devoid of humanity. In other contexts, some of these songs could click, but for the most part, Modern Guilt is pleasant but not at all engaging, and it gets to feel draining when heard as a whole. This is unfortunate given that “Profanity Prayers,” the record’s most successful number, arrives at the end. The song, which sounds rather like an emotionally neutral version of Radiohead’s “Bodysnatchers,” is the most spirited thing on the album by far, and the only track with a drum sound that has any sort of spark.

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Hauschka “Rode Null”

Should song reviews come with spoiler warnings? I feel as though describing exactly what happens in the second half of this song may ruin the experience somewhat, but at the same time, I feel like there’s no way I could adequately describe its movement, and the specific blend of emotions it evokes. I probably don’t have the skill necessary to do it, but more than that, I don’t have the desire. This is an astonishing, gorgeous piece of music, and I don’t want my useless, futile words to get in the way of your pleasure.

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